By:  | February 11, 2023 9:01 am

It is not clear why Francisca Vera’s nickname is ‘Scarface’. But by the end of the first round of her fight with Gusjung Fairtex at ONE Friday Fights 4 she had an enormous cut on her forehead.

It was so bad that the ringside doctor spent the best part of a minute deciding whether or not to let her continue competing. Gusjung had sliced her open with some razor sharp elbows in a totally one sided opening round.

But Vera did not just survive the onslaught. She came back to dominate the second stanza, finish the Thai fighter and earn a $10,000 USD performance bonus.

The only concern for the Phuket Fight Club representative is that she could well be left with a scar on her face, she will certainly need stitches. But she demonstrated real fortitude and determination to turn the fight around.

Vera was on the front foot in the opening round but Gusjung was too slick and kept stepping in and firing elbows through her guard. The Thai fighter was able to use some fast footwork to circle out and find new angles while constantly landing counters at close range.

Front foot

Vera looked bereft of ideas at this stage. But she started the second stanza on the front foot with the one minute break clearly not long enough for Gusjung to have got her breath back.

The Thai fighter looked exhausted and was dropped by a right hand. It didn’t look like a hard shot but she barely beat the count and was on wobbly legs.

The referee gave her the benefit of the doubt but a visibly delighted Vera knew that the end was in sight and came on strong. A knee to the midsection from the clinch dropped her for a second time and although Gusjung got back to her feet she could barely raise her hands.

The referee sensibly decided to call off the contest at the 1:43 mark. It was a remarkable comeback with Gusjung dominating the opening round but Vera rallying to claim the win in the second.

Best of the rest

In the main event Duangsompong Jitmuangnon claimed a majority decision win over Batman Or Atchariya. He landed a hard right hand in the opening round which nearly dropped the former Lumpinee champion and two of the three judges felt he had done enough to win with the other seeing it even.

ONE Friday Fights 4, Bangkok, January 10th
Duangsompong Jitmuangnon def. Batman Or Atchariya via Decision (Majority)
Petchmuangsri Teeded99 def. Mongkolkaew Sor Sommai via Decision (Unanimous)
Erdem Taha Dincer def. Alessandro Sara via KO (punches) at 2:05 of R1
Francisca Vera def. Gusjung Fairtex via TKO (Knee) at 1:43 of R2
Chaongoh Jitmuangnon def. An Bunhour via TKO (Punches) at 1:07 of R1
Fabio Reis def. Ferrari Fairtex via KO (Punch) at 2:30 of R2
MMA: Bruno Azevedo def. Talekh Gamidov via Technical Submission (Arm-triangle choke) at 2:02 of R2
Kickboxing: Fariya Aminipour def. Hiroki Suzuki via Decision (Split)
MMA: Peter Danesoe def. Aqib Awan via TKO (Knees) at 4:33 of R1
Malena Garcia def. Judy Humber via Decision (Unanimous)